Islanders 5, Bruins 3
BOSTON -- The lowly New York Islanders pulled more holiday magic out of their helmets Tuesday night.
Just two nights after coming from back from three goals down at Minnesota to win a game under those circumstances for the first time since 1994, the Islanders spotted the Boston Bruins a 3-1 second-period lead before charging back for a 5-3 victory at TD Garden.
The win, fueled by four power-play goals, was the Isles' fourth straight on the road, their fifth in the past six road games. New York ended the Bruins' eight-game home winning streak (their longest since 2008-09) and handed Boston its first regulation lost in 16 games, dating back to its last loss, Oct. 26.
Islander center John Tavares scored two goals (his 15th and 16th) and assisted on two others.
New York, owner of the third-worst record in the NHL, scored three goals in a 4:02 span bridging the second and third periods. The Islanders took the lead when Taveras scored 32 seconds into the third period, then added their fourth power-play goal, also by Tavares, at 13:17.
Islanders right winger Kyle Okposo had a goal and two assists, center Frans Nielson scored his 14th and 15th goals of the season, both on the power play. New York right winger Tomas Vanek and defenseman Andrew MacDonald both had two assists.
The Islanders (13-21-7) scored five goals on their first 27 shots against Boston goalie Tuukka Rask, who was pulled Saturday night in Ottawa after giving up three goals on 12 shots.
Boston center David Krejci scored the 100th goal of his NHL career goal (No. 9 this season), and center Patrice Bergeron and left winger Daniel Paille scored 25 seconds apart to give the Bruins a 3-1 lead.
Evgeni Nabokov made 35 saves in the New York goal as the Bruins lost their second straight.
The Bruins (26-12-2) took a 1-0 first-period lead when Krejci, taking a second swipe at the puck in front, scored 4:25 into the game. It wsa Krejci's 17th point in the past 15 games.
The Bruins were 30-for-32 on the penalty kill through the previous 10 games plus one period before the Isles went 3-for-4 in the second period before adding the third-period power-play tally.
Any chance of a Bruins comeback was killed when left wing Milan Lucic took a double minor (and a 10-minute misconduct) with 3:57 left and his team on the power play.
NOTES: Bruins RW Shawn Thornton, whose appeal of his 15-game suspension was denied by commissioner Gary Bettman, isn't taking his case to an independent arbitrator. "I'm still not happy with the amount of games that I got but respect the decision," said Thornton, who served Game No. 11 on Tuesday. The penalty stemmed from an attack on Pittsburgh Penguins D Brooks Orpik. ... The Islanders start the new calendar year at home against the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday, while the Bruins host the Nashville Predators the same night. ... Islanders RW Kyle Okposo is making an impressive late push for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team. ... New York LW Josh Bailey missed his second consecutive game with an upper-body injury. Islanders RW Michael Grabner returned after missing a game with an illness.
